*Six Months Later*
Troye yawned and rolled over, curling into Connor's side as he woke up. He smiled and started pressing soft kisses against Connor's shoulder until the green-eyed man groaned and pulled away.
"Connie, come back." Troye whined, using his hand to turn Connor's face towards him. Connor's eyes fluttered open and he smiled at Troye sleepily.
"Mm, good morning."
"You're so beautiful when you've just woken up." Troye whispered.
"Not as beautiful as you." Connor disagreed and pulled Troye on top of him. "I love that I get to wake up next to you every morning."
"Not every morning. You still live in London." Troye pouted, noticing a smirk on his boyfriend's face. "What?"
"I was going to tell you tonight at dinner but I think now's a perfect time."
"Perfect time? To tell me what?"
"I'm moving to Brighton."
"You're what? Are you serious?"
"I'm moving to Brighton. My hotel is almost finished and I decided that it'd be easier to be close to it when it opens. Plus you're here. So the choice was easy." Troye let out a shriek in excitement and kissed him.
"So we can spend more time together?"
"Well, I'll still have the occasional business trip for the family company. I'm not abandoning that. But I was thinking, maybe you could come with me on some of them. See the world."
"I'd love to. But I'd have to work it out with my boss."
"Of course. I know that you're still working and I don't want to disrupt that for you. But if you come with me, you won't have to pay for it, ever. Either myself or the company will pay for everything. The only thing you'd have to do is be there."
"I couldn't do that. I'd be indebted to you or the company."
"Troye, you're my boyfriend. I can spend money on you if I want. You can pay me back, if you really feel like you have to, by letting me show you off to the whole world."
"Show me off?" Troye had heard Connor use that phrase countless times in the past when they talked about Troye's presence at events and things but this morning, it hit him differently, maybe because of the excitement he was feeling in that their relationship was actually solidifying. He sat up suddenly, letting the blankets fall as he looked around for where his pants had been thrown the night before. Connor was surprised and reached over to touch his shoulder but Troye just shrugged him off.
"Hey, what just happened?"
"I'm not a toy, Connor. I'm not something you can just dress up and parade around like, I don't know, like a doll."
"What? Troye, I've never thought that. I love you."
"You keep saying you can 'show me off' like I'm some prize to wave in other people's faces." Now Connor sat up too, to watch as Troye began to pace at the end of the bed. "I don't want to be just a trophy-boyfriend to brag about."
"I know that. Come here..." Connor crawled to the edge of the bed and pulled Troye to sit beside him, hugging him tightly. "Troye, I don't think of you like that, you know that. When I say I want to show you off, I just mean that I want the whole world to know that the most beautiful, loving, kind and caring man is mine. I promise. I love you. If you want me to stop saying or doing something, just tell me. I won't get mad."
"I love you too." Troye mumbled, turning his head to bury it in Connor's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I overreacted."
"It's okay. Just tell me when something upsets you. I'm not a mind-reader." Troye laughed at that and hugged him tightly.
"I love you, Connor. So much. I'm glad I can call you mine."
"I'm proud to be able to call you my boyfriend, too. You're honestly the best thing that's ever happened to me." Connor pulled Troye's face closer, staring into his eyes for a moment before joining their lips together.
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When the news broke that Connor was moving to Brighton, the media went wild with theories of Troye and Connor's relationship going to the next level. It kind of bugged Troye a little and he moaned to Connor occasionally about 'Why can't they leave our relationship alone?' until Connor reminded him it was just a side-effect of being involved with anyone in the family.
"You know, you could talk to Michael about it, if you want. About how he got used to dealing with the constant paparazzi and stuff. He was like you when Nicola met him, nobody knew who he was." Connor suggested one evening when they were at Troye's apartment, sharing a quiet meal together.
"Maybe. When they get back from their honeymoon, though." Since Troye officially became Connor's partner, he'd started going along to more events and was getting to know the family a little better. He'd even gotten to be a guest at Nicola's wedding, something he hadn't even thought he would get to do since it was so soon after they made their relationship official. He'd become particularly close with Nicola and was waiting to be able to see her again when she and Michael returned from their honeymoon to Hawaii in a few weeks. "When are they coming home, anyway?"
"Last I heard, they were flying back on May fourteenth. But knowing Nicola, it could be after that. She tends to just book open-ended holidays and comes back when she feels like it."
"God, that would be so good. To be able to just choose when to come back to reality." Troye sighed and Connor reach across the table to squeeze his hand.
"You can, you know. If that's what you want, I can take you all over the world and you'd never have to worry about anything."
"As nice as that sounds, it's not realistic. I'd love it at first but I know I'd get restless after a while. I need work. I need a balance of life."
"And I'll respect that. But as soon as you say the word, I'll drop everything and take you wherever you want." Troye smirked.
"I have an idea of where you can take me right now."
"Oh yeah? And where might that be?" Connor was already pushing his chair back a little, knowing where Troye was headed with this.
"Hm...I was thinking my bedroom is a good place to start." Laughing, they both stood up and made their way towards Troye's bedroom, pulling each other close on the way, giggling when Connor backed into the door frame accidentally. "I love you, Connor."
"I love you too."
